I spent about two weeks in the coffee region this past December. It rains all the time. According to wikipedia, Pereira (2,750 mm of rain) gets more than three times the annual rainfall of the "miserably rainy" city of Bogotá (793.7 mm). I was expecting Pereira would be more rainy, but not that much...I'll take it back if someone else can find a more reliable source. My guess is the city doesn't have much of a drainage system either. It's a hilly city. Hope you're spending most of your time near the top of those hills.

So it seems like what you're saying is that you consider other foreigners to be "competition" for getting with girls rather than valuable resources to meet people, find jobs, get housing tips, and be in the know about what's going on in the city. Most people won't get very far with this attitude.

What im saying is exactly what I said. Most men will be INTERESTED in the women. And most guys would like there to be minimal competition. Thats completely separate and secondary from meeting people Colombian or Foreigner that can help find jobs, get housing, meet people ect. Ideally someone would want both aspects met. Lets not make things more complicated than it is.

windowlicker wrote:

And here is what it all comes down to. What local? What room? He wants salsa classes and Spanish lessons. Where's he gonna find that? Even if someone were happy working in a crummy institute for just six months until their tourist visa ran out, Pereira would still be a terrible city to do this. There are no young professionals or students with spare bedrooms in their apartments you can rent. All these people live with their families, or are living in the major cities. Your options would either be to rent your own (probably unfurnished) apartment, which would be expensive on an institute salary, or else live with a family. And while you're looking for housing, where will you live in the meantime? There's no hostel style place used to dealing with foreigners to help orient you. The budget places will probably be very low quality and in the more unpleasant parts of town. There's not a lot of activities going on or places to go to meet people. The people you're likely to meet may be very friendly, but aren't the type of people most foreigners will find it easy to form serious friendships with. With a good job and people at the job to help take you under their wing a bit, meeting people and finding decent housing might be easier. Without one, it's very possible you'll find the city to be very, very lonely.

What local? The ones you meet and be-friend from either online or hitting the streets ect.

What room? The room you and/or your local friend locate.

Where is he gonna find salsa classes? Maybe from hitting up salsa clubs and asking about classes and lessons.

Where is he going to find spanish classes? From going to the local Universities and asking about any classes they might have. From networking ect.

Doesnt look terrible to me. Gotta do the same things you would have to do in any city. Get out and make friends / net-work. Sure it might not be as easy as say Bogota but if you like a city than that alone shouldnt stop you from trying.

To say there is NO (ZERO) young professionals or students with spare bedrooms is also false and a stretch. There is many Universities in Pereira. I will list them for you.

1. Technological University of Pereira
2. Catholic University of Risaralda
3. Free University of Colombia
4. Andina University
5. Cooperative University of Colombia
6. CEIPA University
7. Antonio Nariño University
8. Autonomous University of the Americas

Now are you gonna honestly sit here and tell people there is ZERO University students that might have a spare bedroom?!?!?!

And while you're looking for housing, where will you live in the meantime? Cheap hotel or maybe one of the almost 100 locals listed on CouchSurfing

No activities and no place to meet people?!?! Come on.

The people you meet will be difficult to make serious friendships with?! Again, completely subjective.

Bottom line is, if someone likes Pereira or ANY city in Colombia it wouldnt hurt them to give it a look and see if they can find a suitable job (by their standards).

Last edited by CarolinaTHeels on Thu Mar 01, 2012 5:32 pm; edited 1 time in total

To say there is NO (ZERO) young professionals or students with spare bedrooms is also false and a stretch. There is many Universities in Pereira. I will list them for you.

1. Technological University of Pereira
2. Catholic University of Risaralda
3. Free University of Colombia
4. Andina University
5. Cooperative University of Colombia
6. CEIPA University
7. Antonio Nariño University
8. Autonomous University of the Americas

Now are you gonna honestly sit here and tell people there is ZERO University students that might have a spare bedroom?!?!?!

Yes, this is honestly what I'm going to sit here and tell you. Six of these Universities are satellite campuses of lackluster universities based in other cities. No one leaves their hometown to live in Pereira and attend these universities. The first two universities are regional universities, which means no one is coming from far away to attend, but you get a few students from nearby towns and cities who are there. If they aren't commuting, they probably have extended family in Pereira they live with. Barring either of those options, they live in something called "cupos universitarios" where they share a bedroom with a few other students, either in a family's house or in a building owned by some old lady who also lives there, where they get three set meals a day and probably have to be home by a certain time each night. No one with the money to pay for their own apartment would attend any of these schools unless they are from Pereira and want to continue living at home.

Go to Pereira find a room, find a salsa class, experience the weather, tell us how the teaching experience was, tell us where to find a high quality spanish teacher, tell us if you were bored or had fun, tell us what you thought of the food, and then I will be interested in what you have to say on this topic.

Until then I will listen to people that have actually been there and taught and lived in Colombia.

I belive that is the common sense (as you say) thing for me or other readers to do.

Yes, this is honestly what I'm going to sit here and tell you. Six of these Universities are satellite campuses of lackluster universities based in other cities. No one leaves their hometown to live in Pereira and attend these universities. The first two universities are regional universities, which means no one is coming from far away to attend, but you get a few students from nearby towns and cities who are there. If they aren't commuting, they probably have extended family in Pereira they live with. Barring either of those options, they live in something called "cupos universitarios" where they share a bedroom with a few other students, either in a family's house or in a building owned by some old lady who also lives there, where they get three set meals a day and probably have to be home by a certain time each night. No one with the money to pay for their own apartment would attend any of these schools unless they are from Pereira and want to continue living at home.

The point im making is you cant say for a fact/certainty that there is no students or anyone for that matter to rent a room from. Def it wont be easier than a place like Bogota but to say for a fact is just plain wrong.

If someone likes and wants to live in Pereira or any city for that matter than there is nothing wrong with them giving it a go. To say going there and hitting the pavement is POINTLESS is just ignorant imo.

redneckpunk wrote:

Go to Pereira find a room, find a salsa class, experience the weather, tell us how the teaching experience was, tell us where to find a high quality spanish teacher, tell us if you were bored or had fun, tell us what you thought of the food, and then I will be interested in what you have to say on this topic.

Until then I will listen to people that have actually been there and taught and lived in Colombia.

I belive that is the common sense (as you say) thing for me or other readers to do.

I dont care if you are interested in what I have to say on this topic or any topic.

The facts still havent changed in regards to Pereira.

It certainly isnt common sense to EXCLUDE a city because a poster is telling you

1) You cant find a room there
2) You cant make REAL friends there
3) There is nothing to do there

ect ect.

Take everything into account and make a go for it if thats where you wanna live, and that goes for not only Pereira but for ANY Colombian city.

But that in know way excludes me from knowing about them. The only thing that matters is if what is said is factual or not. Now was what I said not factual or impractical? Please, im all ears.

When I see someone asking about other large cities in Colombia off the beaten path I will continue to inform them about Pereira, Bucaramanga, Barranquilla, Ibague, Manizales, ect. There is other possibilities outside of Bogota, Medellin, Cartagena, and Cali. Sure they will be harder but the possibilities are there for those that put in the effort and alittle luck never hurts.

When I see people giving out false info like

1) You cant find a room there
2) You cant make real friends
3) There is nothing to do there

I will continue to call BS.

Had Windowlicker simply said it's harder to find a room in Pereira, and left out the there is nothing to do in the city, and you cant make real friends ect I would not have had a problem with what he said.

The CELTA, in my opinion and many of those who have done it, is one of the best life-skills courses you can do. It is expensive, but it will make your teaching experience, whether for one year or a career, infinitely more productive, keep more doors open for you and heck, you might even learn a thing or two about yourself.

While I am not here to join the criticism of particular centres and the value for money of their courses, there is a whole lot of truth to the idea that you only get out of an experience what you put in.

I didn't teach English while I was in Colombia, except that I helped my engineering staff who all spoke pretty good English improve their English conversational skills.

I've not been to Pereira, but I have been to Armenia, and I lived for 8 months in Tulua. Yes, it rains, it rains a lot in the rainy seasons, and it rains tolerably when it's not the rainy seasons. The people in these regions are exceptionally helpful to Gringos. I would try to stay in the cities and avoid the more rural areas, but even when I spent a weekend at a remote coffee plantation I had a great time.

I'm 6'4" and pale as any good Scot would be, and I got people calling out to me as they passed me on the street, "Hey Gringo!", all the time. I walked day and night in Tulua, often with a computer in my backpack and never felt any hint of danger. I talked to several local schools about teaching, and the general feeling was that my Spanish skills (non-existent) were a barrier to my being able to teach. However, in Tulua there was probably 20 English Schools that I came across as I wandered through the city.

Pereira, is a reasonably advanced city with a number of schools and while the campuses may be satellite, there's a lot of Graphic Design and High Tech work there, and I think some call centers. So you will, I think, find that there a hospitable climate there for you to explore. I generally found Colombians to be exceptionally friendly and helpful. That said, they are still suffering from PTSD as a country and every town that's not their town they consider exceptionally dangerous. When I was in Cali, they told me I was crazy for living in Tulua, when I told people in Tulua I was going to Cali, they all thought I was insane. Same was true about almost any city I traveled to.

The weather in Tulua was tropical but not horrid. (no higher than 89, no colder then 72) A good fan was enough to make for comfortable sleeping at night. Just be prepared for cold water showers, as there aren't many places that have hot water. Only us gringos need hot showers the locals prefer cold water showers.

Now that said, Colombia is still a third world nation, where there is great disparity between have and have not. Crime is not unusual, if you're in the wrong place, and find yourself at risk, don't resist. Hand over what ever your being asked to give up, do not give anyone reason to think you are a risk or a problem. People get killed in Colombia (just as they do in NYC, or Detroit or Miami). Don't carry what you're not willing to lose. Don't resist, be passive in that situation.

I enjoyed my time there greatly, and I would gladly and do plan to go back. Food is a bit bland, but the country is lovely and the people, simply wonderful.

PS My brother's inlaws always travel, and they've been all over the world, they traveled this last February to Colombia and they were quite to say that the colombians where the most helpful, most outgoing people they've come across.